EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

Exodus 29:1-46

Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation

God’s instructions to Moses

Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 29 The priests’ preparation – verses 1-37

This preparation was very important. So it lasted for 7 days, which is a complete week. Only a priest brought special gifts to God. And God gave them that job. They had to *represent the people in front of him. There were 6 parts to their preparation for the job.

1. The priests must wash and prepare – verses 1-9

v1 The *LORD continued to speak. ‘I have chosen these men to serve me as priests. This is how you must separate them for me. Find 1 young *bull and 2 male sheep that are perfect. v2 Use flour of good quality that you make from wheat. And make bread without *yeast. Shape some mixture into large loaves. And mix some mixture with oil to make smaller cakes. Also make some mixture into very thin long biscuits. Paint oil on their tops. v3 Put all this bread in a basket. Then give it to me as a gift together with the *bull and the 2 male sheep.’

v4 ‘Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent where you meet me. Wash them with water. v5 Then dress Aaron in the special shirt that he wears underneath. Dress him in the special shirt, the *ephod and the *breast-piece. And fasten the *ephod on him. Use its belt that the worker made especially for it. v6 Put the special cloth on his head. Take the gold plate with the special words on it. And attach it to the special cloth on his head. v7 Then take the special oil and pour it on his head. This will separate him from other people for me.’

v8 ‘Dress Aaron’s sons in their special shirts. v9 Put the special cloths on their heads. Then put the belts on Aaron and his sons. The priests’ work belongs to them. And this law will last for all time to come. You must separate Aaron and his sons from the other people in this way. Then they can serve me.’

Verses 1-3 Verses 10-28 describe how the *Israelites used those animals and the bread during that event. They were the special gifts that the priests must give to God at that time. They must be perfect animals. *Yeast is the substance that makes bread rise. But the *Israelites must make that bread without *yeast.

Verses 4-6 It was necessary for Aaron and his sons to wash themselves completely. This showed that God had forgiven them. Then they received their priests’ clothes. In Exodus 30:17-21 we read about the *bronze basin. They must wash in that basin.

Verse 7 God told Moses to pour oil on Aaron’s head. The *Israelites called that act ‘to anoint’. It showed that God had chosen a person for a special duty. A priest would pour the special oil on someone’s head. It was God’s *sign to identify a priest or a king. Jesus was the Christ. The name Christ means this. ‘The person whom I have chosen and I have anointed’ (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus used that title for himself (Luke 4:16-21). He lived in a perfect way. This showed that God had chosen him to be both a priest and a king. He was the perfect, most important priest. We can approach God because Jesus gave himself to God in our place. Jesus was like a perfect gift (Hebrews 10:19-22). And Jesus is the King of kings who deserves all our honour. So we should *worship him.

Verses 8-9 As soon as Aaron and his sons had received their clothes, they had become priests. God had chosen their family and the *Jewish priests always belonged to Aaron’s family.

2. The animal that Aaron and his sons gave to God because of *sin – verses 10-14

v10 ‘Bring the *bull to the front of the tent where we meet. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on its head. v11 Kill the animal at the entrance to the tent. Kill it in front of me v12 Take some blood from the animal. Paint it on the *horns of the *altar with your finger. Pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the *altar. v13 Then take all the fat from round the inner parts of the animal. And take the internal parts called the liver and the kidneys together with the fat. Burn this on the *altar. v14 But burn the *bull’s meat, its skin and other internal parts outside the camp. You are giving this to me because of the priests’ *sin.’

Verse 10 Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the animal. This was a *sign that they put their *sins onto the animal.

Verses 11-12 The *horns of the *altar were the parts that stuck out at the four corners (Exodus 27:2). The animal’s blood showed that the animal had died. It died because of Aaron’s and his sons’ *sins. Because of the animal’s death, God would forgive Aaron and his sons.

Verses 13-14 Moses burnt on the *altar only the animal’s internal parts. These parts are called the liver and the kidneys. And he burnt the fat round them. He had to burn the rest of the animal, and its skin, outside the camp. He moved the animal’s body outside the *Israelites’ camp. That was a *sign that God was removing the priests’ *sin. In a similar manner Jesus died outside Jerusalem as a *sign. He was the perfect gift that removed people’s *sin (Hebrews 13:11-12).

3. The gift to God that Aaron and his sons burnt – verses 15-18

v15 ‘Take one of the male sheep. Aaron and his sons must put their hands on its head. v16 Kill this animal and throw its blood against all the sides of the *altar. v17 Cut the animal’s body into pieces. Wash its inner parts and the legs. Put them with the head and the other pieces. v18 Then burn the whole animal on the *altar. You are giving this animal to me as the fire burns it. And it has a pleasant smell that pleases me.’

Verses 15-18 Aaron and his sons put their hands on the male sheep’s head. They were showing that they wanted to give it to God as a gift. They killed it and they prepared it carefully. Then they burnt the whole animal on the *altar. They would please God when they *worshipped him in that way. It was a *sign that they desired to serve God completely.

4. Aaron and his sons gave the other male sheep to God – verses 19-25

v19 ‘Then let Aaron and his sons place their hands on the other male sheep’s head. v20 You must kill it, and put some blood on Aaron’s right ear. You should also put some blood on his right hand’s fattest finger, and on his right foot’s big toe. Put blood on his sons’ right ears in the same way. And put blood on the fattest fingers on their right hands. And put it on their big toes on their right feet too. Then splash blood against each side of the *altar. v21 Take some blood from the *altar. And mix it with some special oil. This special mixture shows that I have chosen Aaron and his sons as my servants. Put some special oil on Aaron and on his clothes. Then put some special oil on Aaron’s sons and on their clothes too. They are separate. And they must wear these special clothes always when they serve me.’

v22 ‘At this event you are preparing the priests for my service. And this male sheep is part of the event. So, remove its fat, its fat tail and the fat round its inner parts. Also remove some internal parts called the liver, and both kidneys. Remove them with the fat round them. Also remove the right upper leg. v23 And take one of each kind of the special bread without *yeast that you gave to me. Take from the basket one loaf and a cake that you made with oil. Also take a thin biscuit. v24 Give this bread and all these parts of the male sheep to Aaron and his sons to hold. They will wave them in front of me as they give this gift to me. v25 Then take all these things from them. And burn these things on the *altar. Burn them with the other gifts that you burn there for me. You are giving it all to me in the fire. And it has a pleasant smell that pleases me.’

Verses 19-21 Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the male sheep’s head. That showed that the sheep *represented them. Blood on their ears showed that they would listen to God. And they must obey him. Moses put the blood on the lower part of the ear. When a master freed a slave, the slave may choose to stay with him. Then the master would make a hole in the slave’s ear. That showed everybody that the slave wanted to remain with that master (Exodus 21:5-6). The short fat finger opposite the other fingers on the hand is very important. We cannot hold something, or pick up something without it. So the blood on this fat finger shows that the priests’ hands would serve God. The blood on the big toes meant service to God too. The priests should always walk where God wanted them to walk.

Moses had to mix the blood with the special oil. Then he must put some on Aaron and his sons and on their clothes. This showed that God had chosen them. They were completely separate from other people so that they served only God.

Verses 22-25 There are still sheep with very fat tails in the Middle East and North Africa. Aaron and his sons would raise those food gifts. And they would wave them in front of the *LORD. They would thank him for all his gifts to them. Then they would burn them on the *altar.

5. The priests’ share – verses 26-34

v26 ‘Take this male sheep’s front part. Raise it up as you wave it in front of me. This will be your share of the meat. v27 Aaron and his sons waved the animal’s front part and its leg in front of me. In that way they gave it to me as a gift. So keep those parts separate for them to eat. v28 When the *Israelites give friendship gifts to me in the future, those parts will be the priests’ share always. This is the people’s gift to me.’

v29 ‘Aaron’s special clothes will belong to his *descendants after he dies. Then each of them can wear the clothes when you pour the special oil on his head. You will prepare him to serve me as priest. And he will wear those special clothes. v30 The son who comes after Aaron as priest must wear the clothes for 7 days. He will come to the tent where we meet. And he will serve me in the Holy Place.’

v31 ‘Take the male sheep that you will kill in front of me. This is a part of Aaron’s and his sons’ preparation to serve me. So you must cook the meat in a holy place. v32 Aaron and his sons must eat the male sheep’s meat. And they must eat the bread that is in the basket. They must eat these things at the entrance to the tent. That is where we meet. v33 They give these things to me. And with these things they are asking me to forgive their *sins. They must do this at the time when you separate Aaron and his sons for me. This meal is a part of their preparation to serve me. So, only Aaron and his sons can eat this food. No other person has the right to eat it. v34 Suppose that they do not finish the meat and bread. Perhaps they leave some until the next morning. You must burn it. You must not eat it, because it is holy.’

Verses 26-28 Aaron and his sons must receive the meat from the front of the animal. And they must receive meat from its back leg. That was their share. God was providing their food. This meat came from the animals that people gave to God. They gave them for friendship and for peace. The front of the animal and the back leg were good parts of the meat. People were giving those animals as gifts to the *LORD. So the priests must wave those gifts in front of the *LORD first. We should always give our best things to the *LORD.

Verses 29-30 When Aaron died, his oldest son received Aaron’s holy clothes. And when he died, his oldest son received the holy clothes. The special clothes for the priest showed his official job as the *LORD’s servant. And ‘7 days’ *represents a perfect time for the priest’s preparation to serve God. The priest served God in the Holy Place.

Verses 31-34 The meat and the bread was part of the special event. This was Aaron’s and his sons’ preparation to serve as priests. So that food was holy. God said that only Aaron and his sons had the right to eat it. They must burn any pieces of the meat or the bread that they left until the next morning. This food was holy. Therefore the priests should eat it at that special event only.

6. How to separate the altar for the LORD – verses 35-37

v35 ‘Do everything for Aaron and his sons that I have ordered you. Do it each day for 7 days. That will separate them for my service. v36 Kill a *bull each day and give it to me. This animal’s death will pay for *sin and it will make the *altar pure. You must also rub that *altar with *olive oil to make it completely holy. v37 Do all this each day for 7 days. Then the *altar will become completely holy. And everything that touches it will be holy.’

Verses 35-37 It was necessary to give that gift to God for the *altar. Perhaps God associated *sin with that *altar because people had made it with tools. So the *altar was not *clean. It was not holy. It was different from the *altar of stone. God did not allow them to build that *altar with tools (Exodus 20:25).

The priest’s daily work in the tent where the *Israelites met God – verses 38-46

The gifts that the priests should give to God every day – verses 38-43

v38 ‘Every day kill 2 young sheep that are a year old. Give them to God on the *altar. v39 Give 1 young sheep in the morning. Give the other young sheep when the sun goes down. v40 With the first sheep give 2¼ pounds (a kilo) of flour of good quality. You should mix this flour with 1¾ pints (1 litre) of pure *olive oil. And pour out 1¾ pints (1 litre) of wine that you give as a drink. v41 Kill the other sheep when the sun goes down. Give it with the same amount of flour, oil and wine as you did in the morning. Its pleasant smell will please me as the fire burns it.’

v42 ‘For all time to come the priests must give young sheep like this daily. They must burn them in front of me every day. They must kill them at the entrance to the tent where we meet. I am the *LORD. And I will meet you there, Moses, and I will speak to you. v43 I will also meet with the *Israelites there. My wonderful bright light will shine and it will make the place holy.’

Verses 38-43 These verses describe the gift that the *Israelites gave to God daily. It was an important part of how they *worshipped God. And it continued daily, even when they had the *Temple in Jerusalem. When Jesus was born, there were men in the fields near Bethlehem (Luke 2:8). Probably they were looking after the young sheep. The priests had the sheep there ready to give them as gifts to God every day. The *Israelites needed more than 700 young sheep each year. They used them only for that gift. And the priests burnt them in front of God each day. The daily gift included bread, meat and wine. Jacob was the first person in the Bible who gave drink to God (Genesis 35:14-15). Perhaps the food that the people gave to God was like an ordinary *Israelite meal. They were thanking God for their daily food. Today, such gifts have a special meaning for Christians, because Christians are priests to God (1 Peter 2:5).

The bread reminds us of Christ, who is the ‘bread that causes people to live’ (John 6:35).
The wine *represents Christ’s blood (Mark 14:24).
To God, Jesus was the perfect young sheep. So he was called the ‘Young sheep of God’ (John 1:29). Christians receive bread and wine when we have the *LORD’s Supper (also called Holy Communion or the Eucharist). This reminds us about Jesus Christ and his death. He died so that God could forgive our *sin.

The priests looked after the fire on the *altar. They must never allow that fire to go out (Leviticus 6:9-13). So the fire continued to burn the gifts daily in front of God.

The *LORD’s purpose – verses 44-46

v44 ‘So I will separate for myself the tent where we meet and the *altar. I will separate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. v45 Then I will live among the *Israelites. I will be their God. v46 And they will know that I am the *LORD, their God. I brought them away from Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the *LORD, their God.’

Verses 44-46 God had promised Abraham to be his God. And God promised to be the God of his family for all time (Genesis 17:7). The tent where the *Israelites met God was special. The priests burnt gifts on the *altar there. These gifts, together with the priests, *represented that special relationship with God. They showed that the whole nation was separate for God himself. The *Israelites must serve God as priests. And they must be a holy nation (Exodus 19:6 and 1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9). God had freed them from Egypt so that he could live among them. ‘I am the *LORD your God.’ These words were at the beginning of God’s 10 *commandments also (Exodus 20:2). And the same words follow many laws that are in Leviticus chapter 19. The statement emphasises God’s power and his purpose. His purpose was to make the *Israelites into a holy people.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
represent ~ when a person acts on behalf of someone else; or you put something in place of something else.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.